Friends of missing fisherman fear the worst

Dec. 18, 2013

A NJ State Police marine unit works in area of a sunken clam boat Sunday along the Highlands waterfront. Police suspended the search for boater Edward Broderick Tuesday because of bad weather. / JASON TOWLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

“That water is 38 or 39 degrees. It’s tough to survive in it,” said Capt. Scott Hilliard.

He believes Broderick’s commercial vessel flipped in the Navesink River.

Hilliard owns the Prowler V, a party boat docked in Atlantic Highlands, and said Broderick worked deck for him on and off for the last five or six years. He also acted as second captain on overnight tuna fishing trips.

“We are really in shock about this. Everyone is saddened,” Hilliard said. “I feel horrible for his family. He had a 7-year-old daughter.”

Broderick has been missing since Saturday. According to authorities he was last heard from around 6 p.m. after he told a friend that his vessel was heading to a clamming facility in Highlands.

The friend reported him missing about four hours later, and Broderick’s submerged vessel was found outside the marina where he originally intended to end his trip.

Hilliard said Broderick always was safe with the boat, so the fact that it sunk has him puzzled.

“Something must have happened, and happened fast, but we’ll probably never know. The conditions weren’t good Saturday night and that river can be a wicked river. It has a strong current,” Hilliard said.

A rescue boat crew from Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook spent most of Sunday and Monday searching for Broderick, along with the state marine police and a helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City.

The search for Broderick was suspended Tuesday because of the winter weather, but will resume today, police said.

Authorities are investigating whether Broderick’s boat collided with another craft, said Sgt. Adam Grossman of the State Police.

On Monday, Towboat US Sandy Hook, based in Atlantic Highlands, removed the submerged vessel from the waters where it was discovered near the Captain Cove Marina in the Highlands, which also is where Broderick was expected to be headed, authorities said.

When the sunken boat was discovered, rescuers went into the water and checked inside the boat’s cabin to be certain that Broderick was not trapped inside the vessel, Grossman said.

A Coast Guard rescue boat and helicopter as well as State Police searched for Broderick for more than 14 hours Saturday and Sunday.

State Police are now the lead agency in the investigation.

According to Hilliard, Broderick was 38 years old and often stayed at the Fairbanks Motel and Marina in Sea Bright.

Anyone with information on Broderick is asked to call the Coast Guard Sector at 718-354-4353.